Useful information about insurances of condo buildings in Italy

Maybe not everybody knows that the insurance for condo building is not compulsory in Italy, and its subscription can be decided by the property manager or during a tenants’ meeting.

The first case occurs when the condo rules say that insurance is compulsory. In this case the property manager is supposed to sign the insurance contract also if he has not had the previous approval of the other cotenants. The situation changes when the condo rules do not include any reference about the obligation of signing an insurance: in this case, since there are no specific explanations about, the manager is not supposed to take any decision in an independent and autonomous way, and he must be authorized by a previous deliberation by the tenants’ assembly before he can sign the insurance contract.

If the property manager has been authorized to sign the contract, but the assembly has not given an unanimous approval, the insurance will regard only the common areas of the building, i.e. the areas that are used by everybody and that are considered as properties of all those who live in that building (stairs, lifts and roof for example), while it will not cover the properties of single tenants, i.e. the single flats and garages. In order to sign an insurance that also includes private properties, the unanimous approval of the assembly is necessary. However, the members of the assembly that have approved the insurance, and that would like their properties to be covered by the insurance, have the chance to sign an insurance contract that does not only cover their private possessions, but also the correspondent shares of common properties. In this way, if an accident or damage occurs in the building, the cotenants that have decided to sign the insurance contract will be compensated by the insurance company, while those who have chosen not to sign the contract will have to personally put up with the damage.

As far as the division of costs deriving from the signing of the insurance contract is concerned, each cotenant that has approved the insurance has to pay a part of the expenses. The division is made in a proportional way, according to the shares that each cotenant has in the building. However, it might happen that some cotenants are asked to pay more: this is the case, for example, of those who do a job or activity that might increase the risks of accidents in the condo.

One of the commonest types of insurance for condo building is the global insurance for buildings, which has the peculiarity of providing the owner of a building with both direct guarantees (to cover the damages caused to the building) and guarantees of civil liability (which cover damages caused to third parties, personal injuries and damages caused to animals or things).

The insurance of condo building is certainly very useful, and it might be necessary to avoid disputes and quarrels between cotenants caused, for example, by damages to common areas, and to protect each cotenant in case of accidents. Both if the condo rules include the obligation to sign an insurance contract and if there are no references about this, choosing an insurance for condo buildings is certainly an important step, and although the Italian law does not provide the obligation to sign it, each condo building should consider the possibility to have one.